Happily Divorced

The premise, based on Drescher's real life, means gay jokes galore but somehow it works, at least for those of us who are suckers for the throwback style. [17 Jun 2011, p.92]

The show has some hilarious moments and perks along between them as you might expect a Drescher show to. It's a fine and frothy companion to the big show on TV Land (is that an oxymoron?) at 10 p.m. Wednesday, the Betty White-starrer Hot in Cleveland.

Happily Divorced is less a sitcom than a showcase for Ms. Drescher's delightful, if somewhat time-worn, brand of schtick.

Happily Divorced, TV Land's third shot at a new old-style sitcom--the George Segal parents-and-son romp "Retired at 35" is the other one--tries harder than "Cleveland" and generates fewer laughs. "Happily Divorced" is not without its pleasures.[...] Okay, Drescher, who most famously starred in "The Nanny," may be an acquired taste. But if you like her combination of attitude and accent, she provides a full dose of both here.

Once known, this fact [the series is based on the lives its creators] lends to the project an authenticity that might not otherwise be apparent, so steeped is it in the rhythms and conventions of the 20th century sitcom.

Drescher is almost as appealing as ever, but the vehicle barely passes inspection.

If you love Fran Drescher, and just the sound of her voice sends you into peals of laughter, happily settle in to enjoy her divorce. If, however, her voice makes your inner dog howl, run like your rear is on fire.

It stays old school and unambitious in order to blend in well with the classic sitcoms on TV Land's roster. The scripts are more like excuses for the stars to go on camera and ham it up than well-constructed state-of-the-art comic material.

Though the series is based on the friendship Drescher developed with her real-life husband after he realized he was gay, there's not a second of the debut episode that feels like it has any connection to actual human behavior.

The act is tired, and at times more than a little inappropriate.

Drescher still looks good a dozen years removed from the last season of The Nanny. But the lines coming from her mouth are too obvious for words.

Based on the 22 irredeemably painful minutes TV Land offered for review, this show is clunky, sodden, cliched, drab, bland and terribly (terribly) weary.